Open house at Taipei air base draws 30,000

The first highlight of yesterday's event was an air show, featuring fly-bys of R.O.C. Air Force jet fighters, including the foreign-imported F-16 fighters and Mirage 2000s, as well as the locally made Indigenous Defense Fighters.

Following the eye-catching jet show came the highly expected paratrooper performance conducted by 10 elite paratroopers of “The Team Mighty Dragon” (神龍小組), one of them a woman, Lu Shu-yu (呂書羽).

Paratroopers landed one after another precisely on the designated target which was around 10 square meters, drawing rounds of applause from a huge number of spectators who turned out despite the extremely hot weather.

On the ground, different types of aircraft, ranging from major fighters and transport planes, and various long- and short-range missiles usually carried on fighter planes, were also exhibited.

According to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), the event was held to celebrate the 100th birthday of the R.O.C. and the upcoming Air Force Day that falls today on Aug. 14.

Air Force Day is in memory of a major victory over the Japanese during air combat in Hangzhou, China on Aug. 14, 1937.

During the historic battle, two of the total 18 Japanese bombers were shot down and four damaged by R.O.C. Air Force fighters, which suffered no major casualties, according to the MND's website.

ROC ID Check

Yesterday's base open house event was the first time that visitors were required to show their identification documents to prove they are R.O.C. citizens before being allowed to enter the military base.

The new policy is to prevent Chinese nationals from entering the military base, according to military officers responsible for checking people's IDs yesterday at the entrance of the Songshan Air Base.

The latest initiative was implemented amid a security leak after one mainland group was spotted inside a base earlier this year.

According to local news reports, 16 Chinese nationals got inside a military base in eastern Hualien County on May 29 during an air show and were seen taking photos and watching drills.

The visitors said they happened to be passing by the base and decided to pay a visit out of curiosity, the reports said.

They were later asked to leave after they were identified by military personnel, the MND said.

Following the incident, the MND asked travel agencies not to bring Chinese tourists to military camps for the fear of possible information leaks.

The R.O.C. identification check could also prevent individual Chinese travelers from entering military bases during regular open house events.

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